| MacUpdate Weekend Sale | :This weekend MacUpdate has slashed prices on Painter 12 and Painter Lite. Painter 12 retails for $429, but has been reduced by 54% to $199. Painter Lite has seen a 58% price cut from $69 to $29. Hurry, because these deals are only available until May 19th 2013. |
Reports have surfaced that Microsoft is allegedly offering $1 billion to buy the digital assets of Nook Media, Barnes & Noble's venture into e-book publishing. Under the terms of the deal, Microsoft would redeem preferred units in Nook Media, which would give control of the operation to Microsoft.
Barnes & Noble has dropped the price of its Nook HD and Nook HD+ tablets as part of a Mother's Day promotion. For the next week, the retailer will be selling the 7-inch Nook HD from $149 for the 8GB and $179 for the 16GB models, while the 9-inch Nook HD+ is priced at $179 for 16GB of storage and $209 for 32GB. The discounts, varying between $50 and $90 depending on model, will apply until May 12th.
Barnes & Noble is boosting the number of apps available for its Nook HD and Nook HD+ tablets, by adding the Google Play store. The software update will add Play alongside the company's own app store, boosting the number of apps available to its users by over 700,000, along with the millions of songs found on Google Play Music, and other Google-supplied content.
Book retailer Barnes & Noble will be allowing Nook HD and Nook HD+ users to make in-app purchases in the future, according to a company announcement. Working with mobile payment provider Fortumo, developers of apps available through the Nook store will have the option of adding the one-click checkout payments system to their products.
Amazon has received criticism over its attempts to register new generic top-level domains (gTLDs), in complaints sent to ICANN. The Authors Guild, the Association of American Publishers, and competitor Barnes & Noble have all objected to applications for the suffixes .book, .author, and .read, citing the potential abuse of Amazon's market position in using the new domain endings.
Barnes & Noble released today a report on its sales results for the nine-week holiday period ending December 29, 2012, revealing disappointing sales trends for its Nook tablet and e-reader devices. The retailer saw revenues of $1.2 billion for the period, down 10.9 percent over the prior year, due in large part to an 8.2 percent decline in store sales, as well as lower online sales and a number of store closures. The Nook segment, the centerpiece of Barnes & Noble's digital content sales strategy, saw a 12.6 percent drop in revenue compared to a year ago.
British publisher Pearson has committed to an $89.5 million investment in Barnes & Noble's Nook Media subsidiary. The stock acquisition represents a five-percent stake in the Nook division, which will continue to be controlled by Barnes & Noble's 78.2-percent ownership.
Literary retail chain Barnes & Noble has opened its Nook Video movie and TV store in the United Kingdom. The video service is also the first digital retailer in the UK to offer UltraViolet titles for sale, allowing customers to buy films through the system as well as registering codes from purchased DVDs and Blu-Ray discs bought in stores.
Book seller Barnes & Noble confessed that customers who have shopped recently in one of 63 stores in the US may have credit card information stolen. The company had discovered about September 14 that one PIN entry pad in each of its retail store had been broken into by hackers. The company defended its decision to not inform the public until now, saying that it had informed credit card companies that accounts had been compromised, and the US attorney's office from New York said that it could wait until December 24 to tell customers.
Barnes & Noble is planning to launch its Nook e-reader line and digital bookstore in the United Kingdom later this year. Online sales through a UK-specific website are to be supported by retail sales from mid-October onwards, in time for the Christmas holiday period. It will face stiff competition from the long-established Amazon Kindle line and WH Smith-supported Kobo e-reader.
Barnes & Noble may be rolling out the the successor to its Nook Tablet this fall. Sources familiar with the company's operations tell CNet that the bookseller will release a tablet device that will improve on the 7-inch tablets B&N has previously released. The report is low on specifics, but the device is said to be B&N's way of keeping up with Google's Nexus 7 and similar devices expected from Apple and Amazon.
[Update: official response from Barnes & Noble] Rumors surrounding Microsoft's mystery announcement have continued to swirl, with the latest reports pointing to a tablet developed through a collaborative effort with bookseller Barnes & Noble. Previous rumors claim the imminent event will focus on a Microsoft-branded tablet powered by Windows, however unnamed sources have told TechCrunch that the surprise is actually a tablet/e-reader featuring Xbox Live streaming.
In an interview with Fortune, Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch revealed that the company's Nook e-book reader will get an NFC radio sometime in the future. It would be used to read the codes embedded into physical books that will contain editorial reviews also found on BN.com. Store displays and ads could also contain such information, letting potential customers read the synopsis or learn more about the author before purchase.
Barnes & Noble has released a maintenance update for its Simple Touch e-book reader. The company's website suggests v1.1.2 brings "minor system enhancements," though representatives have confirmed that it attempts to address a Wi-Fi reliability issue that has affected some users.
Barnes & Noble has asked the International Trade Commission to review a recent ruling from Administrative Law Judge Theodore Essex in the ongoing patent lawsuit filed by Microsoft. The company argues that the judge's dismissal of its "patent misuse" defense is based on "erroneous conclusions of law" and a "misstatement of the facts."
Barnes & Noble has reportedly closed a loophole that had allowed Nook Tablet owners to load apps from third-party sources. The company has begun circulating a software update, version 1.4.1, that is said to prevent the tablet from loading new apps that haven't been obtained through the official Barnes & Noble app portal, however users report that third-party apps installed before the update arrived remain on the devices.
Barnes & Noble is believed to have received more than a million Nook Tablets from the company's manufacturing partner, Inventec, unnamed sources from component suppliers have told DigiTimes. The company is said to have expected to ship 800,000 tablets before the end of the year, suggesting holiday sales may have proven stronger than initially anticipated.
Barnes & Noble has announced a back-to-school promotion that enables students to access $100 in free books and study tools with the purchase of any new Nook reader. The educational content package includes a collection with 12 of the company's Classics books and 12 SparkNotes study guides, along with the free Nook Study guides and four Nook apps.
Barnes & Noble's Nook Color e-book reader has already been hacked to gain root access. Members at XDA Developers posted screenshots of the rooted device running Angry Birds, a function which is not possible using the stock adaptation of Android 2.1.
Barnes & Noble has released its quarterly financial report, indicating strong performance with digital distribution but a drop in sales from the company's many brick-and-mortar locations. CEO William Lynch highlighted the fledgling ebookstore, which has already achieved a larger market share in the digital realm than the company's share in the retail market.
